Home is Where You Are
by Mrs. Rory Williams
Summary: The story of Amy and Rory's life after they were sent back in time.
1. Prologue: Alone in New York

It was only a moment...just one moment and her surroundings had changed completely. The Doctor and River were nowhere to be seen, but neither was Rory. A surge of sudden panic overwhelmed Amy as she looked around the museum room she found herself in. There were only a few people, as it seemed to be getting late in the day, and none of them even remotely resembled her husband.

But he had to be here, after all they had been through together, Rory just had to be somewhere nearby...and soon.

She knew Rory was at least fifty years before the Doctor had last seen them, and she had not waited too long to follow him, so she had to have ended up near him.

Amy's eyes circled the room once more, and then locked onto the exit. If Rory was not here waiting for her, she certainly was not going to just stand here and wait for him to visit the museum. Squaring her shoulders, she walked confidently forward, silencing any doubts in her mind. Her Rory would always find her, and she would always find him, no matter what it took.

The thing to do, she decided, was to get a place to stay, and then find a way to get Rory's attention to tell him where she was. A missing person poster would do just fine.

One way or another, she would find him, and they would be together until the very end. 2,000 years could not keep them apart, wiping Rory from history completely had not helped. A little thing like being sent back in time was definitely not going to do any better.


	2. Chapter 1: I Will Always Find You

Amy had expected it to be alone harder to find her way around on her own, but it turned out that the Doctor had taken care of her, as he always did. His goodbye present had been (however he had managed it) to create a bank account with enough money to settle her and Rory into their new life. She had found this out when she had gone in to exchange her British money for American dollars. A well-stocked account under Mr. and Mrs. Rory Williams.

She could not explain the rush she felt when she heard that, but she thought that just maybe, he was telling her that everything was going to be fine.

After the bank, Amy decided she might as well rent an apartment until she found Rory and they could decide what to do next together. The rooms felt so empty, though. She had become so used to being with Rory that she couldn't see this place as a home without him.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, one of the few pieces of furniture included with the three rooms, she thought back to their earlier life. They had been so young and reckless...but those days were over for good now. They would never see the Doctor again. Oh, how she would miss him.

But she would have Rory, and that was all she needed, which reminded her that there was still work to be done to let him know she was here. What were the local newspapers in this place? She guessed she would just have to go out and find them.

The sun was rising when Amy finally made it back to her new residence, so tired she thought she could have fallen asleep on the sidewalk if it had been the only place available. She closed and locked the door behind her and barely made it to the bed before falling across it still fully clothed. She would find Rory soon. He had to see the paper eventually, and when he did, he would come for her. He would always come for her, he had promised.

Before she let sleep take over, Amy brought Rory's face to mind, _"I will find you. I will always find you."_

Rory sat on the couch of his hotel room, face in his palms. What was he to do now? He had promised Amy he would always be there for her and now what? Who knew where he was, but he sure as anything was not with her...he might never see her again.

They had stopped the weeping angels: together, created a paradox by falling of a building: together...and now, thanks to a single angel, they were going to die far away from each other. It broke Rory's heart to see it that way, but he was at the end of his rope. Two months he had searched the city, asked anyone he met, anything to put away the inevitable. Of course she could not have followed him, it would have been too uncertain. Or maybe she had tried to follow and been sent somewhere and sometime far away.

He could not bring himself to get anything more permanent than a hotel room. He had gotten a job at a local hospital to support himself, but other than that, he had spent every waking moment looking and asking around about Amy with no luck.

He had no intention of ever giving up, but the chances were slim of his ever seeing her again, he supposed.

_"No, I will always find her,"_ some part of his mind said.

His head shot up and he stood with renewed determination. She had to be here somewhere. Surely she had at least tried to follow him, and, if she had, the Doctor would never have allowed it unless there was a fairly good chance of them ending up together. If Rory could trust anyone else to look after his wife in his absence, it was the Doctor.

The night was nearly gone, so he decided to get some rest before heading back out. One way or another, he would see Amy again.


	3. Chapter 2: Stupid Face

Amy forced her eyes open and felt around beside her on the bed for Rory before remembering their circumstances. Sighing, she pushed herself to a sitting position and brought back the memories of the previous day. The ad should be in the paper by now, but she had no idea when it might be delivered. She just hoped Rory was somewhere within the delivery range of that particular paper.

The person she had spoken to about printing the article had almost refused because he thought it was 'just too strange.' Amy did not disagree with him, but she was not going to give up her best chance at finding Rory. It took quite a large bribe to finally change his mind, but that was a price Amy cared nothing about. On the back cover, there was an ad titled: Find Me. It was followed by the words 'Oi Stupid Face...I miss you. You said you would always find me, but here's a clue.' The address of her apartment concluded the ad, as she had wanted to make it so only Rory could understand it. It was only a matter of time now, she thought.

A smile nudged the corner of her mouth up a bit, and then she realized how hungry she was after the long night. No wonder, her last meal had been probably sixty years in the future. She decided to get a quick shower before heading out, though she had no clothes besides what she was wearing...a bit of shopping along the way could never hurt her.

Feeling refreshed after a hot shower, Amy headed out to find a restaurant that appealed to her, stopping a few times to purchase items of clothing as she went. By the time she pushed open the door to a cozy-looking pastry shop, she had what amounted to approximately three full outfits with her.

She doubted she would ever take food for granted again as she devoured the sweet rolls she had ordered, feeling her growling stomach quiet a bit with each bite. If only Rory were here to enjoy them with her, then she could have ranked this as one of the best breakfasts she had ever had.

The thought of Rory slapped her back to reality. What if he had already seen the article in the paper and had gone to her apartment only to find it empty? She was sure he would wait at least an hour or two if he had seen the article, but even so, she didn't want to make him wait. She wanted him now.

Having paid beforehand, Amy left the remainder of her breakfast on the counter and rushed off towards her current residence, letting the idea of Rory already waiting there for her cross her mind for a brief moment. She could just see his warm, deep hazel eyes that always seemed to be so full of love when they met hers; she could hear his deep voice, so sweet to her ears, as if he were right beside her...It had always seemed to get softer when he was talking to her. Everything about him was so right, so right for her. He was home to her.

_"I love you, Rory Williams,"_ she thought, _"And next time I see you, I'm gonna make sure you know that without a shadow of a doubt."_

Amy knew people on the streets around her were giving her funny looks: a woman running through the streets of New York carrying an assortment of packages and bags and probably wearing an odd smile. What did she care? She was going to see Rory soon. Then everything would be just fine.

* * *

Rory sat up on the edge of his bed and wiped the sleep from his eyes, slowly adjusting them to the sunlight filtering through the open curtains of his hotel room window. He had slept much longer than he had intended to. The clock on the wall said that it was 10:18, less than 45 minutes until his shift at the hospital began. He ran a hand through his short, light brown hair and wondered how long his shift at the hospital would last...and how he would proceed with his search for Amy when that was over.

Just the thought of her vibrant ginger hair brought a smile to his face. And her wide brown eyes, so full of life always seemed to calm when she was looking at him. She was not the type of girl who just showed her feelings, or spouted them off on a whim, but he knew she loved him. Her expression always softened slightly when she caught him watching her, which he did often. Then she would smile that little smile he adored so much and keep on doing whatever she was working on. There was no way he was ever going to give up on finding her now. He missed her so much all he wanted to do was hold her close every minute of the rest of his life to make up for these two months without her. He felt so incomplete without her.

Squaring his shoulders, Rory got up and dressed, then headed off to the hospital by bus, arriving just three minutes before his shift began.

* * *

Eight hours later, Rory checked out of the hospital and headed back to his hotel room to change into normal clothes before looking for Amy.

As he stepped over the threshold, he subconsciously picked up the newspaper and dropped it on the couch as he passed, not paying it enough attention to note the back cover, which was facing up.

When he exited his room, heading for the door, he paused for a moment, then guessed the paper was worth a try. Amy might have left him some kind of sign if she was here, knowing her...or she might have been arrested or attacked or virtually anything else, but he pushed from his mind the thoughts of what might happen to her when he was not there to protect her.

He flipped the paper over and skimmed each page looking for anything that even _suggested_ Amy. Nothing.

Rory exhaled heavily, as he slapped the paper shut. What had he been expecting? A sketch of her on the front page? He propped his chin on his palm for a moment, and the his eyes happened to catch a glimpse of the back page of the paper.

_"...Stupid Face."_

For a moment, his brain just accepted it, then he shot up and seized the paper, memorizing every word at lightning speed. He was breathing heavily now, heart beating at an unnaturally fast pace.

_She was here. She was trying to get his attention._

_...She had called him 'Stupid Face' on a paper that everyone around the city read._

And he loved her for it.

Ever since the episode with the Silence, that had been her term of endearment for him, and it did not matter one bit that if anyone heard her say it, they would assume she was insulting him.

All that mattered right now was that his life would soon be complete once more. Rory was beaming from ear to ear as he ran out the door, desperate to see Amy again.


	4. Chapter 3: Missing You

The thought of seeing Rory again, the possibility that that moment was only minutes away drove Amy on through the streets of New York. Surely he had seen the ad by now, and he would not wait long once he had.

But her hopes fell as the apartment came into sight with Rory nowhere to be seen. Amy swallowed hard, reminding herself that the ad had only been printed for a few hours and who knew what Rory was doing or where he was. There was plenty of time left before she needed to start worrying that he had not seen the ad. With this thought locked into her brain, Amy stepped into her apartment and looked around. When she found Rory, she wondered if he would prefer to get a house or if he would want to stay here. She missed him so badly, and it had only been a little over a day.

Exhaling, Amy sank down on the couch and examined her nails, trying hard to keep her mind off what could prevent Rory from getting to her. She refused to believe he had ended up far enough or long enough away from her to keep him from finding her. She found herself slipping into a reminiscent memory from not so long ago...

_Amy flipped off the tv as she heard the door open and then close. She stood and turned to see her husband looking at her from the door frame. Her eyes met his and he smiled that smile that made her feel warm inside. Whenever he gave her that smile, she could never really tell what kind of expression she made, but she guessed it was probably a stupid grin she would never want to be seen by anyone but Rory._

_She could not tell how long they just stood there before she crossed her arms over her chest and said, "Well, are you gonna kiss me or not, Stupid Face?"_

_Rory spread out his arms, "Of course."_

_She met him halfway, throwing her arms around his neck and pressing her lips to his, feeling his arms wrap around her and hold her close. It took a moment or two for Rory to kiss back, as it usually did. He almost always seemed surprised that she was kissing him in the first place. He never, no matter how many times she told him, really seemed to realize just how much he meant to her. She absolutely could not live without him, and she would never have wanted to._

_As she pulled back, she placed her hands on the sides of his face, stroking his cheeks with her thumbs, "I love you. I love you so very much."_

_Still looking a bit dazed, Rory murmured, "I love you too. And I won't ever let anything hurt to you. I'll never stop fighting for you."_

_Amy pulled his face back to hers and kissed him again, then the memory faded to hazy moments of more kissing, wine, and bed..._

Only when she shot up on the couch did she realized she had drifted off. She looked at the clock on the wall and saw that the time was 5:45. Still no sign of Rory.

An involuntary sigh left her lips, but she consoled herself with the previous memory. Her Rory would never stop fighting for her, even if it might end up being a fight with time itself. She knew she could trust him on that, he _had_ kept that promise for over two thousand years, why should she doubt him now?

She might have smiled at that, but at the moment, she didn't feel much like smiling. She missed Rory, she needed him.

She stood and began to pace the main room of her apartment, having no idea what to do with herself at this point. Eventually, she opted to see what foods the apartment manager had left as a complimentary first stock of necessities.

Settling for a roll and a cup of tea, Amy returned to her couch and ate absentmindedly. The clock ticked steadily and hours passes without Amy really realizing. The only truth she could take in at the moment was that Rory was not here and she needed him.

She had just reassured this thought in her mind when there was a knock on her door.

Amy could not hold herself back. She shot up and darted to unlock the door.

* * *

Rory stopped a taxi and urged the driver to hurry to the address in the newspaper. The taxi driver looked suspiciously at his client, but did not protest, for which Rory was grateful because right now, he knew where to find his wife and his arms ached to hold her. The thought that she was only a few minutes away was making his heart jump inside his chest. Just the thought of her had that effect on him. Why and how she ever ended up with him never had made since to him, but he would not dream of protesting it. She made his life worth living and these two months without her had been a living hell. Every second now just made him more desperate to be near her once again. His heart gave a lurch with every red light and stop sign.

He wished the taxi driver would go a bit faster, but this seemed to be as fast as was allowed.

At long last, the cable stopped and Rory was out in a split second, shoving a wad of dollar bills into the taxi driver's hand as he passed, almost running to the door of the apartment. He stopped just as he reached it to steady his breath and felt his heart beating a sporadic rhythm. After two months without her...he could not wait another second. Three knocks sounded on the door and he prayed she was there right now.

He did not have to wait long, for not ten seconds after his knocks, the door flew open.

Rory could not hold himself back. He took her face in his hands and crashed his lips on hers. His head went dizzy and he could not put two thoughts together but he did not care, because she was in his arms once again, right where she belonged. Everything was perfect again.


	5. Chapter 4: Making Up For Lost Time

Amy was so stunned by Rory's absolutely glowing face when she opened the door that she could do nothing but stand there while he held her close and kissed her with such passion she supposed he must have been here longer than she had. She felt so complete and happy that she forgot to kiss back for a few moments, though Rory seemed not to mind whether or not she returned his kiss.

Finally, she threw her arms around his neck and felt him smile against her mouth.

They did not move much for a few minutes, and when they pulled away, Rory rested his forehead against hers and whispered, "I've missed you so much."

Amy brushed her hands against his face, "And I've missed your stupid face."

That remark got her the monosyllabic chuckle he had that completely melted her. She loved that sound more than words could describe.

"How long have you been here?" Amy asked, dreading the answer because she knew he had been alone here for more time than she had.

"Two months, you?" he said it gently, knowing she was going to feel guilty because he had been away from her longer than she had been away from him.

Amy gasped, clinging to him in a way that he really did not object to at all, "Oh, Rory, I'm sorry. I should have followed sooner."

Her fingertips were subconsciously running through his short hair now, and she just had an effect on him that made it nearly impossible for him not to forgive her. Heck, what was two months compared to two thousand years? What was time between them, so long as they ended up together, which they always would. They always found each other, and this time had been no exception, "Don't be sorry. I assume the Doctor can't follow us, and you stayed to say goodbye."

He could see the tears in her eyes, and her lip began to tremble as she replied, "How did you know that?"

"I know you," Rory replied, holding her close as she buried her face in his chest and cried. Amy was not the sort to cry over anything unimportant, so when she did cry, Rory knew she was next to heartbroken.

They were both silent for some time except for Amy's muffled sobs, standing there in the apartment doorway wrapped in each other's arms. This was it: their time-traveling days were over. But the part that hurt most was that they had just lost their best friend forever. Adjusting to normal life together would be easy; resigning themselves to the fact that they would never see the Doctor - and most likely their daughter, as well - ever again was ever so much harder than either of them had ever thought possible.

Eventually, Amy's sobs quieted, and after a minute or so more, stepped back slightly and looked up at Rory questioningly, apparently trying to compose herself, "What did you do all this time?"

"I looked for you, anywhere and everywhere. And I got a job at a hospital to support myself," Rory responded, distressed by his wife's tear-streaked face.

Amy forced a smile and said, "Well, the Doctor gave us a bank account as a parting gift, so I rented this place. It's not much, but it's nice..." she met his eyes with a meaningful look, "...you should see the bedroom."

"Yeah," Rory said.

* * *

Rory woke up expecting, as he had become accustomed to over the past two months, to be alone in the bed, but was startled to feel someone against him. A moment's flashback reminded him of finding Amy the previous day and his heart jumped unexpectedly. He smiled to himself as he looked at her curled close against him with her head resting on his stomach, her fiery red hair splayed across his chest, one arm crossed possessively over his waist and the other just resting delicately on his side. Everything felt so perfect right now. Rory stroked Amy's bare shoulder with the hand already resting there, reassured by her soft skin that she was really here. He had finally found her. And how he had missed her.

She stirred slightly, and then pressed closer to him before her breathing resumed its previous regularity. Rory sighed and closed his eyes again: he could live in this moment for the rest of his life. Then Amy moved her arm that was around him, running her hand over his skin as she pulled it to his other side. Rory shivered slightly and Amy grinned as she pushed up, looking down at his false innocence face. He could not help but adore the way her morning hair framed that beautiful face he loved so much. Life really must have a thing for him to give him the perfect woman.

Amy looked into his deep hazel eyes for a moment before leaning down and brushing her lips slightly against his. When she pulled back, Rory blinked for a moment looking slightly dazed. She loved it when he reacted that way, though she could not see why he always seemed so surprised that she would kiss him.

"When do you have to be at work?" she asked.

"Uh...I could just stay here..." Rory suggested.

"You'd lose your job," Amy pointed out.

Rory moaned, "11:00."

Amy smirked mischievously, "We have time, it's only 9:00."

Eventually they both got up, showered and got dressed for the day, then went out to find a place to eat.

On their way back to the apartment, they stopped by Rory's hotel room to check out and collect anything he had accumulated over the past two months, which turned out to be a small amount of food, his work outfit, a few other pairs of clothes, and a razor.

"Not getting too comfortable?" Amy commented as they left the hotel, him carrying his small box of belongings under one arm.

"How was I supposed to be comfortable without you?" Rory asked as if it were obvious.

"I love you," Amy said, grabbing his shirt and pulling him close to press her lips to his.

"Yeah..." Rory almost squeaked, then he cleared his throat and said, "I mean, I love you too."

Amy just smiled to herself as she stopped a taxi to get them back to the apartment.

After Rory had changed into his nurse outfit, Amy stopped him at the door to embrace him tightly, feeling him return the embrace and kiss the top of her head.

"See you," Amy said, stepping back.

"See you," Rory replied, looking as if he would much rather have stayed there with her.


	6. Chapter 5: With You

While Rory went through the motions of his eight hours at work, wishing he could have spent them with his wife instead, Amy had gone out for groceries, determined to have a nice dinner ready when Rory came back. She was no fan of cooking, but having lived on her own for such a long time as a child had made her a pretty good cook. She did not know what she would have done had Rory not found her as quickly as he had, but she did wish it had been sooner for him. Thoughts raced through her mind of what could have been. Just one angel had survived and that was all it had taken...what if it had not? If Rory had never noticed the grave, would it still have been there? What if they had all left a few minutes earlier? She could have considered the possibilities forever, but she pushed them from her mind. They were here now, together. That was all that mattered right now was that they were together. Her life had not lost its purpose because she was no longer saving the world with the Doctor, it's purpose had just been altered.

When she got back from shopping, Amy began to adjust things around the apartment to be more to her liking. This was no longer just a place to stay. Now that she had Rory, this was a home. Their home. Amy smiled to herself at that. Their other house had been so much nicer and more spacious, but she got the feeling that they would not be moving into a new house unless something changed. For now, they were set with a one-bedroom apartment.

Some time later, she sat on the edge of the freshly-made bed and looked around the room, satisfied. Having picked up some accessories while at the store, the apartment was already looking more lived in.

She looked at the clock and sighed. It was barely six o'clock. Still over an hour until Rory would be back. Deciding to start on dinner, Amy headed for the kitchen.

Having not gotten much sleep the previous night, Rory was exhausted as he stepped onto the bus and told the driver where he needed to go. He sat on an empty row and picked up a newspaper someone had left in the seat beside him. The person had obviously been from out of town because the paper was based in Washington, was dated from three months ago, but what got Rory's attention was the cover story: The Mysterious Man Who Saved the President.

It was a somewhat distant photograph of the Doctor, and, at his side, River Song.

Rory could not stop the smile that tugged at his lips upon seeing it. That had been three months ago, before Rory had arrived in New York, but still. He knew they would never meet again, something inside him had convinced him of that a long time ago, but it was still good to know that the Doctor was moving along. This was the way it should be.

Rory had long since finished reading the full story when the bus stopped at his new residence. He took the paper with him as he got out. He stood at the door for a moment, wondering if he should show Amy or make sure she never saw it. It would either cheer her up to see the Doctor and their daughter, or devastate her that he was still about his old routine without them. He decided that, knowing her, she would find it amusing. It was their daughter with him, the Doctor's wife, after all, so she would not really see it as them being replaced.

Realizing Amy had not given him a key yet, Rory knocked on the door and listened to her footsteps running to the door to meet him. Sometimes, back in England, he would knock instead of unlocking the door himself just to hear that. The lock clicked and she threw open the door.

"Hi," he said, awed as ever by the way her face lit up at the sight of him.

She flung herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck, "About time."

Rory grinned and held her close, "I missed you all day. Maybe I should take fewer hours."

Amy chuckled and pulled back to look him in the eyes, "Missed you, too, Stupid Face. Wouldn't mind having you around more."

He almost responded, but she made an impatient sound and grabbed the neck of his shirt and pulled his face down to crash here lips against his. Rory immediately forgot what he had been about to say, his mind gone foggy as it always did when she kissed him suddenly. But he was not complaining.

After awhile, Amy seemed to remember they were still outside the door and pulled Rory inside, closing the door behind him and pressing him against the door to kiss him again. Then she pulled back suddenly and smiled before rushing off to the kitchen leaving a stunned Rory at the door. He could vaguely smell the aroma of whatever she was cooking, though mostly his mind was trying to remember where he was, and when he had ended up inside.

A few minutes later, they sat on the couch with streaming plates of lasagna and a bottle of wine on the short table in front of them.

Amy took a contemplative bite, then said, "So are we planning on living here for awhile?"

Rory studied her expression for a moment, then replied, "If you're okay with that."

Amy nodded, pouring them both a glass of wine, then handing one to Rory and holding hers toward him, "To our new home, then."

He chuckled and clicked his glass with hers, then they both took a sip and Amy's face took on a mixed expression between amusement and sadness.

"What's wrong?" Rory asked, concerned by her sudden change of moods.

Amy met his eyes and forced the sadness from her face, "Nothing, just remembering that day the Doctor tried to drink wine with us."

That reminded Rory of the paper he had dropped in the doorway when she had pulled him inside, and after they had finished eating, he rose an said, "I found something that might cheer you up. Be right back."

He opened the door and picking up the paper, then returning to Amy who was absentmindedly sipping her second glass of wine. He sat beside her and she looked at him curiously.

He offered the paper to her, and, after a suspicious look at her husband, Amy took the paper and examined it. Immediately, her face lit up, "He's traveling with River now," she paused, the returned her eyes to Rory's, which were watching her carefully, "Are you going to miss it, traveling with the Doctor?"

Rory nodded, "You?"

"Yes," Amy sighed, "But I would rather be here with you than there without you."

A warm feeling spread through Rory's entire being at that. He put an arm around her and for the longest time, they just sat there, sipping wine and chatting pointless as only lovers could.


End file.
